House passes scaled-down farm bill

Published: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a scaled-down Farm Bill this week that keeps provisions for the sugar industry intact.

The House failed to pass the measure late last month, causing uncertainty in the sugar industry, which relies on combination of import restrictions and loan programs to regulate the commodity’s price. These provisions are dictated by the Farm Bill. and industry representatives say the programs are vital to American sugar’s competitiveness while opponents say they lead to government waste.

The Senate has already passed a version of the Farm Bill. Although both version keep sugar provisions whole, local industry representatives said the differences between the two versions in other areas is reason for concern going forward.

“The Senate-passed version and the House-passed version are both identical as far as sugar. So we stand in good shape there. But once again, the whole bill has to move for us to get a five-year farm bill,” said Jim Simon, general manager of the Thibodaux based-American Sugar Cane League.

To pass the House, Republican lawmakers stripped provisions that pay for the government’s food stamp program. The previous version of the Farm Bill failed as Republicans sought deep cuts in the program that Democrats opposed and President Barack Obama threatened to veto.

The bill now moves to a conference committee that Simon said will be closely watched by the industry.

“Any action in Washington that moves the process along is a good step,” Simon said. “There is still much work that must be done through conference. And there are many questions about what the conference report will be.”

Simon noted there is a sharp partisan divide over food stamps, and that could hijack the bill’s ultimate passage.

In a floor speech, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, “You are taking food out of the mouths of your own poor constituents.”

Cutting out food stamps drops the cost of the Farm Bill from $100 billion a year to about $20 billion a year.

The vote was a welcome victory for Republicans who have struggled to bring their majority together on even bigger issues such as immigration and the budget.

“Thank God, we can do something!” exclaimed Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., as he walked off the floor after the final vote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.